Broken wings of Freedom
by Rinku no Kurai
Summary: Now the highest ranked pilot in ZAFT, Kira struggles to hold together his relationship with Lacus who continually proves to be more concerned about her work than Kira. In addition, Cagalli is still distraught over Athrun and their failed relationship.
1. How it all begins

It's been a pretty long time since I've actually written fanfiction, but I guess I was finally inspired to again.Anyway,there's gonna be quite a few different pairings, so you'll just have to figure 'em out as we go along.

_Cosmic Era 75_

_After the defeat of Chairman Gilbert Durandal, and ZAFT being appointed its new leader as Lacus Clyne the world had become a much more peaceful place as would have been expected. The three factions of the Earth Federation, Orb, and ZAFT had ceased their feuding and had decided to support one another for a better world. And yet, weapons such as Mobile suits still existed. Many didn't believe such a peace could last, but after a year things have not changed… peace still reigns. However, this story is not of the peace that very well may end one day, or the existence of mobile suits being unnecessary. Like any story worth telling, this story is about a girl. Specifically, the story is about the boy chasing after the girl, and how hard he is willing to give chase. _

"Kira Yamato." A young soldier spoke, adorned in the ZAFT green coat uniform. "Without a doubt, he'd win." The burgundy haired young man explained to his two comrades, a female red coat and a male green coat.

The red coat spoke next. "Not a chance. Athrun Zala." She explained.

"Psh, he shouldn't even count. He's in Orb now." The last soldier explained. "Shinn Asuka gets my vote."

Just as this argument of who the three thought were the better pilots continued a young man in a white and gray uniform walked past them. Instantly all three saluted silently, but the man just dismissed it as he walked past. His brown locks of hair were somewhat in disarray, and his uniform was not as neatly pressed as it should've been for a White Coat. His first and only stop ended up being the Chairwoman's office as he knocked lightly on the door. Kira Yamato, Commander in ZAFT, and boyfriend to one Lacus Clyne, ZAFT's chairwoman. As he waited there was no response for the longest of time.

Then the door slid open, Yzak Joule standing there. "Oh, Kira." Came a voice from behind Yzak as Lacus smiled at the brunette. Yzak took his leave, and Lacus walked up and hugged Kira, looking up at the taller young man. "Are you well?"

Kira allowed himself a small smile. "Y..yeah, I am. I got done early today… maintenance on Freedom went well. How'd your meeting today go?" he asked. For the last year the two had definitely found it more difficult to continue their relationship to say the least… but the two had learned to work their relationship around one another's busy schedules. "I figured, since I got off early we'd have time to go grab dinner together."

"Oh, Kira, that's really sweet but I have another meeting. The Earth Federation representative came to the PLANTs and wanted to discuss a few policy changes that I have to look over." Lacus explained, slowly moving away from her lover's embrace. Kira weakly smiled, nodding. "I… I'm sorry, Kira. But this is the only day I can see the rep-" Kira cut her off.

"No, it's fine. I'll just finish up some of my work, you don't have to feel bad about it Lacus." Kira assured her, kissing her forehead before walking off silently. Suddenly, Kira wanted to scream as he tried to calm himself down. For whatever reason, this incident had just hit him really hard. And he realized soon after why.

"_I'm sorry, Kira. I can't today." _

"_Oh, Kira, that's sweet, but I have a meeting…" _

"_Kira, please, I just can't right now…" _

It'd been the same thing for the last month… every time Kira went to see Lacus she'd been too busy, and perhaps finally this had been his breaking point where he couldn't take it. Before he knew where he'd gone, Kira found himself sitting down in his office with his hands folded gently under his chin as he rested with his thoughts. _"There's something I need to do… what if I lose Lacus to her work?"_ the young man wondered to himself, rubbing his violet eyes gently with his right hand. He was starting to feel fatigued, to say the very least, but he now had a mission.

He had to figure out what to do… something to keep from losing Lacus to ZAFT. They'd withstood the test of time for three years now, hadn't they? He couldn't let himself give up on her so easily. Maybe if he'd had someone to talk this over with, he could think more rationally, but he didn't have anyone to talk to. Athrun was down on Earth, still trying to rekindle his relationship with Cagalli which was failing miserably as of now. And who else did Kira really have that he could talk to other than Athrun, Cagalli… and Lacus herself.

All his beacons of help rested on Earth for him, but if he left to there it pushed him further away Lacus… could he afford that? But if it was to save his and Lacus' relationship, it'd be worth it. He had some shore stored up, so he could take a short trip to Earth. _"That'll work perfectly, and when I come back I'll have a plan to make sure I don't lose Lacus." _Kira thought to himself, smiling faintly as he stood up and walked out of his office.

Being one of the highest ranked officials in ZAFT, he hardly had to worry about permission for anything, but just the same he put his shore leave into formal request so that Lacus knew where he was. The process of gathering up clothing and what not was short, and before long Kira was in his flight suit once more as he climbed into his Gundam. Quietly Kira brought Freedom to life before slipping his helmet on, looking over his visual screens to make sure all systems were in order.

The gray of the Mobile suit began to fade, brightening to white, blue, red, black and gold as the Variable Phase Shift activated as Freedom was shot off the launch catapult. As Freedom gracefully flew through the abyss of space, Kira watched the sea of stars around him with a small smile._"Something about seeing space like this is relaxing… but… I miss seeing the stars from Earth, too." _He admitted to himself, clutching the controls of his Mobile suit as he guided Freedom downward towards the Earth. Atmospheric entry was the same every single time, a long drawn out process that left Kira reflecting too much on what he was doing, or what he was thinking.

"_Or what you're escaping from?" _he questioned himself. No, he wasn't running away from his and Lacus' problems… he wanted to fix them. He just needed advice, that's all. He assured himself that's what the situation was, closing his eyes briefly in a blink as he nodded to himself. And as his concerns seemed to settle down a truly gorgeous sight was before him; Orb in all of its glory.

He was still a good four hundred feet up away from it, but that seemed like nothing as he guided Freedom towards the ground. He chose his destination carefully, landing precisely between Akatsuki and Infinite Justice on the MS dock. As Freedom's feet touched down its color faded from its body as the Phase shift was shut down, the last bit of life draining from the Gundam's gold eyes as they fell lifeless. A series of moments later Kira descended from his cockpit, only to be greeted with a literal flying tackle from his sister Cagalli. "G-geez Cagalli, I didn't even signal anyone that I was coming down!" he laughed, smiling.

Cagalli stood up, dusting herself as she held a hand out to Kira which he graciously took. "Orbs radars picked up Freedom a bit ago, so I made sure to be the first one down here." She explained.

"How've you been?" the brunette asked of his twin, noticing she'd managed to get a leaf in her hair which he gently plucked out. "Are things with you and Athr…"

"_I'm fine._" She assured, tilting her face to the side at the mention of Athrun.

"Right." Kira said, lifting a duffle bag over his left shoulder. "I hope my room is free. I might be here a while."

"Are you and Lacus okay?"

"_I'm fine._" He repeated her previous statement, and she could just nod, her amber gaze falling on her twin in concern. "I could go for some dinner, though. That's for sure." Kira mused, smiling.

"Sure, after you come say hello to everyone." Cagalli added, walking beside her brother as she lead the way to the reception hall. "I've got a big surprise for you." She then added slyly, smirking at her brother as she looked up at him. "Hey… did you grow? I actually have to look_up _at you now. That's pretty wrong, seeing as you're the younger sibling…"

"Well, genetically boys do tend to be taller than girls, even if we are twins." Kira corrected, hearing a soft chirping behind him. Turning, a small mechanical green bird landed gently on his shoulder. "I was wondering where you were, Tori. I was starting to think you were going to stay with Freedom." He mused, gently bringing his right index finger under his bird's beak and gently rubbing it affectionately. "So what's this big surprise, Cagalli..? I'm pretty tired, and was kind of just expecting to crash…"

Then he heard it, the shouting and exhilaration of the room they walked into as the lights flickered on. Everyone was there… all of his and Cagalli's friends as well as nearly every cabinet member in all of Orb. "What's the occasion?"

"Our birthday, stupid." Cagalli grumbled. "It's May 18th, or did you forget your own birthday?" she asked, poking Kira hard on the forehead.

"Sorry…" Kira could only offer, sighing. He assumed that with all that Lacus had put him through emotionally as of late the date had slipped his mind… which actually only proved to make him feel worse as he realized Lacus too had forgotten his birthday. "Thanks everyone. This was definitely a nice way to come home. But next time can I at least get into some normal clothing?" he joked, looking at his pilot suit. The group all seemed to laugh at Kira's inquiry as he felt his sister grab his arm. "Cagalli… I appreciate all of this but I really want to…"

"You're not going to sleep, not yet. Just enjoy your birthday, all right?" she seemed almost to plead with her brother. He finally caved in and nodded as he allowed her to drag him to the table where Athrun, Mwu, and Murrue were all waiting for them.

The number of people, Kira decided, was staggering. Far more than Kira actually knew, as he determined than most of them were probably here more for Cagalli than anyone. After all, the birthday of the leader of Orb was definitely something important. He just got tacked onto the bill for it being his birthday too. Amidst all of the clapping, cheering and laughter, Kira found himself lost until his sister stood up and tapped a spoon against her champagne glass. "Everyone, I'd like to make a speech." The room silenced immediately.

"It's hard to believe that today, me and my brother turn twenty." Cagalli admitted, smiling down at Kira who was still sitting. "Come on, idiot, stand up…" she whispered, grabbing him by the arm and lifting him up. "But, today isn't really my day. It's also to congratulate Kira on becoming ZAFT's ambassador to Orb. When I got the news yesterday, I nearly flipped out. I get to spend all the time I want with my little brother again, now that he'll be on Earth."

Kira felt his face falter ever so slightly from what Cagalli said. _"…I didn't come here to be ambassador to Orb." _He thought to himself. And the news came yesterday, when he hadn't been here yet? "Cagalli… what're you talking about…?" Kira whispered into her ear.

Cagalli leaned back "I'll tell you in a second…" she assured, looking at her brother sadly before forcing a smile. "So, in honor of Mr. Kira Yamato, can we get a big round of applause?" she asked. The crowd erupted in clapping while Kira silently walked out of the room, Cagalli literally dropping her glass on the floor as she chased after him. "Kira!" she shouted, and in tandem Kira swung around to face her. "I thought Lacus had told you… I thought that's why you were here already."

"Lacus did this!? She was going to send me down to Earth as a good will ambassador? Orb and ZAFT already have good relations… why?" Kira asked, clenching his fists. "So what? Lacus is just writing me off and sending me back to my sister and friends?"

Cagalli looked down to the ground, her amber orbs closing soon after. "Kira… Lacus and I have been talking a lot lately, and… she said she thought this was what was best. But.. sh… she told me she had already talked to you, that's why I agreed to it. I thought you _knew._" She admitted, sighing.

"So what… Lacus is done with me…? After almost four years..?" Kira assumed.

"No! No!" Cagalli quickly interjected. "Sh.. she just wanted to tie up some loose ends with work, and knew you were upset over how distant she'd been. She figured sending you back here would cheer you up, that's all…" Cagalli admitted, hearing her brother softly sigh. Slowly she walked up to him, watching as he began to turn away but she quickly acted and wrapped him up in as tight a hug as her petite frame could offer. "Kira… don't run away." She whispered, pushing her face gently into his chest. "Things'll be okay with you and Lacus… "

But, Kira wanted so badly to push away from this moment, to say something outrageous and rude to push Cagalli away. _"Just like you and Athrun, right..?" _he thought, harshly wanting to say it out loud. But he didn't. Instead he just slowly let his arms fall around his twin as he sighed. "Maybe." He mused, resting his head gently against hers. "Happy birthday, Cagalli…"

"Happy birthday, Kira…" Cagalli sighed out in return, holding onto her brother. "Do you wanna go back to the party..?"

"No. Can we just go somewhere to talk? I'm kind of mixed up… and well, I came here to get advice on what I should do about me and Lacus. And now with this new bombshell… I figure I'll be doing a lot more talking than I realized." He sighed out, and Cagalli weakly hugged her brother harder.

"Sure, we can go to my office. It's about the only place we can really be left alone." Cagalli admitted. Moving away from their embrace, Cagalli slid her hand inside of her brother's as she led him to the office. _"Maybe I couldn't help mine and Athrun's relationship… but Lacus and Kira are so perfect for one another. I have to help him make her see that…" _Cagalli thought to herself. With the only plan she had being to formulate a plan, Cagalli walked into her office with Kira in tow.

Kira had protested a bit as Cagalli all but dragged him, but he just sighed and shook his head in defeat. "Cagalli.. I changed my mind, I don't wanna talk about…"

He was cut off of course. "Listen to your older sister! You're gonna talk about this whether you want to or not!" Cagalli chastised, glaring at Kira as she sat down on the couch in her office. Kira just fell against the other side of the couch in defeat, nodding faintly. "Just because Lacus is really busy lately doesn't mean that she doesn't love you, Kira…" Cagalli explained. Kira looked down at the floor, nodding a little bit. "You guys have been together a long time… just because Lacus sent you down here to be ZAFT's ambassador to Orb doesn't mean she's trying to write you off."

Kira's mood didn't perk up too much, but he did offer Cagalli a faint nod as he sat back against the comfortable couch. "You think this is going to be one of those time apart things, and when I go back everything'll be fine..?" Kira asked, suddenly realizing how doubtful such an easy solution was for him.

Cagalli wanted to say something, but her thoughts all came out sarcastic so she just patted her brother on the shoulder. "Kira… whatever happens, you've got your big sister. So cheer up." Cagalli finally managed to say without sounding sarcastic or saying something else that could've come off as rude. "Besides… Lacus is totally crazy about you. I half expected when you came down to say you two were expecting already!"

Kira looked away, somewhat bitterly. "Not likely." He mentioned, waving his hand dismissively. Cagalli just canted her head to the side in slight confusion. "Long story… don't worry about it." Kira mumbled, folding his arms over his chest. "I don't suppose you could blow off your political responsibilities tomorrow so we could spend some time together? This just seems like the type of thing I won't be able to talk to Athrun about.." Kira mentioned, rubbing the back of his head with a lopsided, somewhat sad smile.

Cagalli smiled somewhat as well, nodding. "Sure, I only had one meeting which I can get my aide to cover for. Did you have anywhere in mind to go?"

Kira nodded as he stood up. "Yeah, we'll worry about it tomorrow though. I'm gonna go to my room and lay down, all right?" Kira then knelt down, hugging his sister. "Happy birthday again… Big sister." Kira teasingly added the big sister bit to please Cagalli. "See you tomorrow."

Cagalli laughed when Kira called her big sister, grinning proudly. "Good, babies like you need to turn in early while us adults stay up." Cagalli teased Kira, waving as he walked off towards his room. Inwardly, though, she was still worried. _"Idiot, you need to cheer up. You and Lacus'll be fine…"_


	2. Reflection, dreams, a day on the town

That night sleep hadn't come easily for Kira Yamato, despite how badly he longed for the escape of a dream where things would've been happier than what they currently were. His eye-lids fluttered around as they continued to shield his eyes from the darkness, but beneath his violet orbs searched for freedom from the false sense of slumber Kira wished to push upon them. Finally, in defeat, he let his eyes open so he could search his room. The room was, for all intensive purposes, gorgeous. Likely second only to Cagalli's room in the mansion, Kira had a very comfortable place to if nothing else reflect on his thoughts.

Sliding off his king-sized bed Kira walked to the small mini fridge and opened it, pulling out a bottle of water. "I wish I could clear my head…" Kira mumbled, looking to the door. Maybe a walk in the fresh night air would help. Finishing off his bottle of water, Kira walked to get some clothing as he pulled on a blue button up shirt and a pair of baggy jeans, finishing off his ensemble with a pair of flip-flop sandals.

The trip was of little true interest to Kira, he was merely wandering to do so… and partially in hopes of tiring himself out enough so that he could return to his room to pass out. But, the cool night air of Orb was refreshing, invigorating more than it could ever be calming. The young Coordinator however would not find privacy on this night, instead he would find himself on the MS deck with a familiar face within Mwu La Flaga. "Mwu-san?" Kira inquired, surprised that the man who was all but his mentor was awake at this hour. "Are you all right?"

Turning to face the other pilot, Mwu smiled as he brushed his long blonde bangs from his eyes. "Kira, I didn't expect you awake this late." He admitted, turning his vision back towards the water that the Mobile Suit dock overlooked. "I just couldn't sleep, which I guess is a symptom we both share tonight." Mwu admitted, leaning his right elbow on the railing that prevented anyone from falling over into the water. "Girl troubles?" he asked then, causing Kira to bashfully look away.

"And you?" Kira asked, admitting his trouble without admitting it.

"You're observant." Mwu teased, grinning his ever confident smile. "Me and Murrue's anniversary is coming up, that's all. Haven't decided what to get her. I'll figure something out, always do." But Mwu's appearance turned serious now. "What about you? Are you and Lacus all right?"

Kira had to smile a bit, just because he felt so easy to read in the eyes of his mentor. "I don't know. The Chairwoman of ZAFT… I don't know if she has time for a boyfriend. I've kind of felt in the way as of late." Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Kira brought his gaze to the starry night. "I find myself wondering if maybe she's looking down at Earth thinking of me… and honestly? I don't think she is."

Mwu sighed, looking at the pain that was all but oozing from Kira's aura as he stood there. "You need to talk to her, Kira. You love that girl, don't you? If I can cheat death for love, surely you can deal with conflicting responsibilities for your love." The elder pilot spoke, doing his best to sound sagely in his advice. Kira however could only laugh a little bit. "Something funny?" Mwu asked, intrigued by his friend's reaction.

"I don't know if I'll have as good of luck. I'm not a man who makes the impossible possible."

"I think you can do a lot more than you realize, Kira." With that said Mwu walked over to Kira and gently patted his left shoulder. "You'll know what to say when you're ready… but just don't wait too long." His parting words were what hit Kira the hardest, causing the young man to just nod as Mwu walked off toward the mansion.

For a long while Kira remained outside, looking out over the night. The way the moon glistened off of the dark sea was calming him down considerably as he thought of what to do. Still, in the back of his mind he tried to figure out two things; What he could say to Lacus and what he would do if he just couldn't keep their relationship together. This made him think of Athrun and Cagalli… were they broken up because of this same thing or something more? Cagalli's responsibilities kept her away from Athrun… just like Lacus' kept her away from Kira.

Closing his eyes tightly Kira leaned further over the railing as he just took in the sea air to try and push all his concerns away. "Maybe I should've ended up like Shinn and fallen for a fellow pilot… I'm sure he and Lunamaria aren't having these kinds of problems." Kira laughed, shaking his head a little bit. He also however couldn't say he knew the depth of their relationship since he rarely worked with the two.

After what he felt was enough self reflection Kira once more found his way to his room, noticing that everything was as he had left it... but he hoped that the one thing that had changed was that he'd be able to sleep, though held little hope for that happening. Changing out of his clothing and into something more comfortable to sleep in Kira let himself slide under the covers and hope for sleep to overtake him. To his surprise, few thoughts plagued him before a gentle nothingness washed over him...

_Tightly gripping the controls of his Mobile Suit, Kira looked through the view screen before him, gritting his teeth beneath his helmet. Before him stood what he knew should've been simple opponents, three GOUF ignited. The only hitch was the status of his mobile suit, and what he was currently piloting. Strike Gundam's movements were hindered due to heavy damage to the left leg... the aging Gundam was literally limping across the rough terrain of the forested area Kira currently called his battlefield. _

_The Aile Striker was of little use... one of the verniers shattered and the wings bent back and badly damaged. The right arm was gone, the left holding up a beam saber that he knew was draining what little power his suit had left... he couldn't handle even one of these mobile suits in this condition, let alone the three before him. "So... this is how it ends." Kira whispered, deciding that he'd do his best to handle them. Orb was relying on him, even though this meant certain death. Gripping his controls tightly Kira pushed forward to battle, rearing the left arm of his Gundam back. _

_A blood curdling scream echoed from within Strike's cockpit as it brought its beam saber downwards, only to narrowly miss cutting the first GOUF in half. Another swing came, only to clash with the ZAFT suit's heat saber. The two remaining suits had taken their clear advantage, and despite sensing what was going to happen Kira could do little to stop it. The heat rod from one GOUF encircled his suit's torso while the heat blade from the third jammed itself through Strike's back, above the cockpit just barely... Kira could literally feel the heat coursing from the sword. That's when the transmission came._

_"Give it up, Kira." a familiar voice whispered._

_"You're not cut out for ZAFT. You're not cut out to be with her." another familiar voice came. _

_The final voice was another familiar one... the most unsettling of all as Kira looked to the view screen of the suit whose saber he was currently clashing with. "It's over, Kira. Don't make this any harder than it has to be..." the feminine voice whispered as the vision of the GOUF faded, replaced instead by an all too familiar face, Lacus adorned in a pink normal suit. "...please, it's for the best... don't make anything rash happen..." _

_"...Lacus... why? Why like this!?" Kira shouted, appalled by what this had all come to. He then gripped the controls once more, planning to launch a final assault... even if it surely meant his death. But as his hands touched down against the cool metal of the controls everything shut down and his body was jolted violently as Strike hit the ground lifeless. The legs and arms severed, the camera was dead meaning the head was likely in the same condition... all power was cut. "Lacus... why..? LACUS! LACUS!!" Kira screamed, ripping his helmet off as he pounded against the cockpit door which refused to open. _

_Then a whisper came, familiar and foreign at once. "Don't give up." _

_Kira looked around frantic and confused. "Who's there!? Help me... please..." _

_"She won't give up on you. Go to her." the voice urged. _

_"...Lacus?" Kira questioned, his hands idly clawing at the cockpit door as he tried to get loose. _

_"She would never betray you... for she knows the pain of betrayal as you do. Do not delude yourself into believing otherwise."_

And as easily as sleep and nightmares had come it ended, a screaming Kira awaking as he clawed through his sheets believing to be stuck in his old Gundam's cockpit. "Wh.. what the hell kind of dream was that...?" he questioned, sighing as he pushed his face into his hands as he realized he'd broken out into a cold sweat somewhere during the night. There were too many questions to answer right now... he couldn't understand the dream at all... why Lacus would attack him...he couldn't even remember who the other two pilots were, only that all three were in GOUFs and for whatever reason he was in the long destroyed Strike Gundam.

Pushing concerns away he looked to the clock beside him, realizing the time. "Damn it!!" he shouted, remembering his plans with his sister as he frantically pushed himself out of bed only to become entangled in his blanket and falling face first into the floor. He then heard a loud knocking at his door, and he could only assume that a very angry twenty year old blonde woman was there. "Coming!" Kira shouted, looking at himself in the mirror... he looked like he'd gotten into a one on one with a mobile suit unarmed. There was no time to shower, of course, so he just threw on the cleanest clothing he could as he stumbled to the door.

He decided as he reached the door that walking and putting his shoes on wasn't easy, but a necessary evil that he couldn't avoid now as he opened the door to see Cagalli standing there. "Sorry... I overslept." he whispered apologetically.

Cagalli however said nothing, reaching up and gently running her hands through Kira's chocolate locks. "You look like a moron. Your hair is awful." she chastised, doing her best to try and mend her brother's state without a comb. "Ugh, I'm amazed you can dress yourself without me... you damn sure can't do anything about your hair." she continued to scold, grumbling under her breath as she continued to try and fix it.

Kira finally pulled away though, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm _sorry_, okay!?" he shouted angrily, staring at the blonde before him before turning away. "I'm sorry that I didn't get a perfect night's sleep like you did so I didn't have time to make myself look presentable!" he couldn't believe he was screaming at Cagalli... particularly over something so trivial, but he had just the same. And the look on her face when he once more turned to face her killed him.

There she stood, her usual confident demeanor destroyed as she looked at her taller twin with her hands shakily at her sides. "...I'm sorry, Kira." she whispered, and before Kira could interject she shouted, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm so _fucking _sorry for disturbing you! Never mind that I sat up all night worried to death about you, you idiot!" she screamed, storming off.

He knew he should follow her, apologize for yelling at her, say or do anything to calm her down. But he didn't.. he just stood there and watched her head right back to her room and shut it behind her. In a cowardly manner Kira disappeared once more into his room, slamming the door shut in his own disgust as he wandered to the mirror in his room and looked at his hair. It looked a little better now that Cagalli had tried to fix it... but it was of little consolation now. "Stupid, Kira... stupid.." he whispered to himself, deciding he wasn't going to let himself ruin the day he'd planned with his sister.

Finishing getting changed which consisted of further fixing his hair and straightening his clothing he soon walked over to Cagalli's room and knocked gently. "Go away, Kira!" came the shout from the other side of the door. Apparently his sister had become a psychic in his absence from Earth. He knocked again, however, only to hear a string of expletives come in place of her previous yell. Clearly just trying to get her to knock wasn't going to work so Kira decided to turn the door knob, which surprisingly proved to be unlocked. This however just further enraged Orb's leader as she yelled from her bed. "Get the hell out right now!"

The ultimate Coordinator was far from being a good listener as he walked right over to his sister's bed, again another string of obscenities escaping her and all of a sudden silenced as she was wrapped up in her much stronger brother's arms. She quieted down almost immediately as she slowly returned the hug, sighing into his shoulder. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have blown up at you. I just had a horrid night's sleep, and the nightmare I just woke up from kind of just added to me feeling like... well... garbage."

Cagalli could say nothing at first for fear of letting her weakness take over and make her cry again, but when she finally mustered the strength she whispered, "Don't kill the messenger next time, jerk." she laughed into his shoudler, hugging her brother tighter.

Kira too forced a laugh as he held onto her. "Sure... I'll keep that in mind, Cagalli." he explained before releasing her from their embrace and slowly backing up. "So, are we still gonna go out, or should I go to my room and think about what I did instead?"

Blatantly ignoring the horrid joke he'd presented she just shook her head. "Let's just go, dummy. I probably look awful though.. I'm gonna have to redo my make-up." Cagalli groaned, only to make Kira blink as he realized his sister actually _was _wearing make-up. The dumbfounded look on his face instantly drew her attention. "What? What is it?"

Gently he moved his thumb just under her eye to wipe away from mascara that had run. "You? Acting like a _girl?" _he questioned with a grin.

"I _am_a girl you know, Kira!" she challenged, only to make him erupt in laughter. "Ugh, I hate you so much!" she yelled, pounding her fists against his chest. her feeble assault only proved to make him laugh harder as he fell onto his back on her bed.

"You really don't." he reminded her, grinning. "Now, come on, go fix your make up so we can go out. I could really go for something to eat."

Cagalli folded her arms over her chest briefly as she moved away from Kira. "Who made the _younger _sibling the boss all of a sudden? Bossing me around to go fix up my make up." she muttered, but for whatever reason chose to oblige as she walked to "girl" herself back up. Much to the younger sibling's surprise this was a process that Cagalli put a lot of work into, as her appearance was apparently proving to be very important to her today.

After what felt like an eternity to Kira passed Cagalli was finally ready as she prodded her brother in his stomach with a smirk. "Come on, you're the one who's so hungry, so stop holding us up already!"

Mumbling the brunette twin just nodded as he hopped off the bed and stood. "What's good in town? I've been at the PLANTs nearly a year... I haven't had any good food since then." he groaned, placing his hand over his face with a faint groan.

"Mm... Chinese sound good?" Cagalli offered as she lead the way towards the parking garage where Cagalli had a car waiting for them. "I'm really craving some..."

"Sesame chicken." Kira finished, and his sibling could only nod with a smirk. "Sounds great, let's get that." his words were soft as he stepped out into the parking garage where he saw one of Cagalli's drivers was waiting for them with a long black limo awaiting their arrival. "Really, Cagalli? So much for being inconspicuous... we're going to be the center of attention wherever we go in that thing." he chastised, only to earn a confident grin from his sister.

"Oh, he's going to drive in front of us so that we don't get noticed. My aide is actually in there, heading to my meeting. We, however, will be riding in that." her voice was ever so joyous as she pointed to a sleek red sports car, the kind that only debutantes and millionaires drove in. And the red color screamed Cagalli, matching her fiery personality to a tee. "I'm driving, I don't trust you with _my_car." the sad matter was, Kira knew that was the case. Despite being an ace mobile suit pilot, possibly the greatest Orb had ever seen even if Kira wouldn't admit he was, Cagalli wouldn't trust him to drive a car.

"Fine, Cagalli. So long as you don't get into a wreck." Kira grumbled, waving his hand dismissively as he hopped into the passenger seat and pulled his seatbelt on. Cagalli slid into her side and did the same, igniting the engine which roared like a wild beast unchained. "...Is it all right to be terribly afraid of what you're going to do with this car?" he inquired, noticing a confident smile tracing his elder sister's lips. "...C...Cagalli..."

She didn't answer him and instead just floored it as she took off from the parking lot after the limo had already left with her aide. Her driving pattern was... different to say the least... she was a speed demon in every sense of the word. But, despite his initial concern Kira didn't feel on edge at all as he decided to leave his fate within Cagalli's hands. "I guess after we eat I should buy some clothing, huh? I mean... I'm here for a prolonged amount of time, I shouldn't just rely on the clothing I have in closet, should I?

"Probably shouldn't." she agreed. "I can get you some stuff, it'll be a nice addition to the gift I already got you." a small, almost sheepish smile traced her features when she said that. "Just make sure when you pick me something up you don't let me see. It's bad enough we're exchanging gifts a day late, I won't forgive you if mine isn't a surprise. You have to treat your big sister much better than that."

Kira smirked, waving his hand in dismissal. "I know, Cagalli. Have I ever in the four years we've been together done one of your birthday's wrong?" he inquired, and she could merely answer with silence. "Point proven." he answered for her, leaning back against the cool leather of his seat as he saw the suddenly familiar restaurant before them. Before he left for ZAFT this had been his and his sister's spot, he and Lacus never even ate here. It was just their brother sister hang out where they'd talk and vent about how their lives were going.

Once they parked the two exited the vehicle and disappeared into the small restaurant and went to the counter to order, each ordering the same meal; Sesame chicken with a side of lo mein before they both adjourned to their seats. "So..." Cagalli began, tracing her right index finger against the tabletop. "Do you want to talk?" she asked, not really having a better way to bring up the subject of Lacus and Kira without worrying she'd upset her twin.

"I don't know." Kira admitted, resting his elbows on the table as he placed his chin gently in his hands. "What was it like when you and Athrun broke up?" he brought up in tandem. "I just have this feeling that... I'm going to be experiencing it soon... so I want to know what I should expect."

Cagalli sighed, leaning over and batting Kira lightly on the top of the head. "You forget I broke it off with Athrun, so it won't be the same but.. I felt empty." she admitted, thoughtfully placing her right index finger against her cheek. "I felt like there was just nothing. But, really... the more I thought about that, I had kind of started to feel that way even when I was dating Athrun..."

Their food had come by now, yet neither had made any attempt to eat. Finally, after what was far too long for the twins to admit had come from silence Kira spoke. "I don't know if it has to end, but if it does... I'd like to salvage my friendship with Lacus."

Cagalli offered a simple nod to that when she finally began eating her meal. A few moments later Kira too began eating and the two just sat there in silence. Chewing another bite of her food and swallowing it Cagalli broke the silence that once more plagued the two, "Relationships suck."

"They do." he agreed, a lopsided smile falling on Kira's lips. "Just the same, I'd like to see you happy again one day, Cagalli. Don't want you becoming one of those crazy cat ladies, where you get a bunch of animals and just claim those are your kids."

The hit on the head he got for this comment was much harder this time, making the young man since in pain as his sister assaulted him. "I could have any guy I want, thank you very much. Beautiful, smart, in a position of power, who wouldn't want me?" she boasted confidently.

"You're right, everyone wants you Cagalli. The problem is a lot of people would want to use you... like that scumbag you nearly married did." Kira whispered, clenching his fist around his fork as he thought of that incident two years ago.

Cagalli blinked in surprise... such a reaction from Kira was somewhat rare where he got so openly mad. When he was younger, sure he got mad a lot when they first met but he'd grown up a lot in the two years of peace before the second war... so to see him revert to how he was back then was a rarity. "...maybe you're right. I think that's a big part of why I don't date."

"You ever wonder if there's some ideal person out there for everyone... and maybe we just haven't met them?" Kira inquired, putting the idea that if he and Lacus did break up that there was someone else out there for him.

His sister however just laughed, finishing off the last of her chicken as she moved on to her lo mein. Slurping up some of her noodles she spoke, a partially full mouth giving her a less than lady like appearance, "I'm sure he's out there for me. And what more, he's not even looking for me and when I finally find him he'll be married to some other bimbo." she mumbled cynically. Kira just sighed in defeat. "There comes a point where... I think everyone just stops thinking in the idea of Mr. or Mrs. Right, and they just start looking for the right _now_person."

Sadly Kira sighed at that thought, not wanting to believe that such an idea could be true. But... honestly, he couldn't say that it didn't make a lot of sense. And with his relationship with Lacus on the rocks he started to wonder if his sister was right... that there was only going to be someone around for the time being, never the long haul.

---

A/N: Man, I ended this kind of emo. Oh well, I promise to kind of cheer things up next chapter. Maybe I'll have some of the happy couples wandering about instead of just the emo twins.


	3. Day in the life of Cagalli

A day had passed since Kira and Cagalli had spent their day together, though Kira had found little solace in his sister's words. He still had no clue as to what he should do about his relationship with Lacus, nor what he should even really be expecting. So, keeping what he was searching for in mind he had gone off on his own for the day to figure out what he wanted to ask Lacus when he next saw her. This proved to leave Orb a much quieter place than it had been since the two days ago when he returned.

Groaning as she sat at her desk, Cagalli found herself signing paper after paper of Orb foreign policy with little on her mind other than how bored of all this political mumbo jumbo she was. _"Mm... I really wish I could get away again like I did yesterday." _she thought to herself, faintly smiling as she penned her name across another piece of paper. Her escape from here yesterday had proved to salvage her sanity that she was certain had been slowly slipping away due to her constant inability to be freed from her office. As she signed the last document of the afternoon she heard knock come to her door, causing her to blink. "Yes?" she inquired, standing up as she straightened the folds of her pants suit before walking to open the door.

There, adorned in the ever familiar Orb military uniform stood Athrun Zala. "Cagalli." the raven haired youth spoke, a small smile tracing his features as he looked her over. "Are you busy? I was hoping that I could have a moment of your time..." Athrun explained, his hands nervously resting at his sides.

Cagalli sighed, knowing all too well what would come of this. But, her paperwork was done for right now... she might as well give him a chance to talk, shouldn't she? Would there really be any harm in hearing him out? "...Sure, I've got some time, Athrun." she murmured, only to feel Athrun's hand grasp her's as she was all but dragged from her office. "Ugh, Athrun, where are we going?" she moaned in annoyance, watching as Athrun paid her little mind as he kept walking until they were in a spot far too secluded her Cagalli's own taste. "Athrun, what is it..? Look, if this is going to be what I think it is..."

"It's not." he quickly cut her off. "I know you expect me to say I want you back. And... I do, but I also know you just don't want to be in a relationship with me again. I'm here simply to ask to know why. Can you give me that?" Athrun asked, his eyes pleading with Cagalli as he watched her for any sense of her facade faultering, something that would give him proof that she'd tell him.

Looking away the blonde sighed. "Athrun... it's just, I stopped feeling the same as you did." her hands idly fluttered from her sides to Athrun's shoulders as she lowered her head so she didn't have to look at him. "When you returned to ZAFT... I started to question your loyalty. Not to Orb, that wasn't important to me. It was your loyalty to me, Athrun." her eyes fluttered up to look at him as she sighed deeply once more. "Orb betrayed all of us at that time, it's not like I could ask you to worry about them... but you lashed out at all the people who you're supposed to love. Your best friend, your ex-fiance' and good friend... and most importantly the person you had asked to marry you. Can you blame me for not being able to accept that proposal after you left us? After you left _me?_" she asked, slowly moving away. She felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them shed. She'd be stronger than that.

Silently all Athrun could do was nod, glancing to Cagalli now that she was done explaining everything. "I just... I thought I was on the right path. I was trying to stop the war, Cagalli. I never meant to push you away..."

Cagalli turned her head to her right side. "Yes you did. When you said that me and Kira were only bringing confusion to the battlefield by even being involved, you pushed me away then. When you took up a sword against the Archangel you pushed me away... maybe Kira can forgive you, but I just can't forgive you for that Athrun." she stubbornly announced, moving further away until she was close to a nearby door. "For two years... you've tried to make up for what you did in any way you could, trying to win me back. But the problem was, you never asked what it was you did... maybe I could've forgiven you if you had at least known why I pushed you away, Athrun."

And with that said Athrun stood dumbfounded, uncertain what to say to Cagalli. She was right, he knew that much... but he wanted so badly to have something he could say in objection, yet nothing came to him. "Cagalli... I lo-" she would not let those words be said as Cagalli quickly spoke up again, cutting him off.

"No you don't. You're guilty... you're afraid that we all think less of you for your mistakes. Athrun, everyone here is your friend still... but that's all I can ever be to you now." clenching her fists Cagalli did her best to not let her emotions get the better of her. This confrontation was two years coming, and surprisingly she was being much stronger than she thought she could. "Athrun, whatever we once had... it's gone okay? Please understand that. I don't want our friendship to be ruined over this..."

Athrun merely looked at Cagalli, as if lost in this moment... but after a short while he nodded. "It's over, then." he repeated, as if just needing one last string of proof that their relationship wasn't going to ever be what it once was.

Cagalli nodded. "It's over."

There was a long silence between the two for a while as they stood there... the uncomfortable variety of silence before Athrun finally managed to say something again as he glanced down the hallway. "I should get going. I'm doing some flight training with our new Murasame squadron..." Athrun explained.

Orb's leader just nodded, smiling half heartedly. "Then they should be all right, learning from an ace." Cagalli complimented, only to see Athrun close in on her once more. She went to protest, but she couldn't get the words lodged out of her throat fast enough before Athrun's lips were on her's. Her golden eyes did not close, nor did she kiss back... she merely let it happen for lack of ability to fight against it. A kiss devoid of passion or feeling, and Athrun soon sensed that as he moved away. "...I'll see you later." Cagalli said simply, walking away silently.

For a long while after she left Athrun stood there, sighing in defeat as he realized how foolish he was. Had he thought one last kiss would turn her around? Shaking his head of his concerns he went to teach his group of rookies for the day.

However, elsewhere Cagalli had already made her escape from what had just happened. Her office would be no safe haven as she'd likely be assaulted with more paperwork there, so she went to the one place she knew where others wouldn't look for her, and where she figured wouldn't have to deal with anyone else. Of course, as she boarded the bridge of the Archangel she found herself to be dead wrong as she found herself face to face with Murrue Ramius and Mwu La Flaga. "Oh... Murrue, Mwu." Cagalli whispered, smiling lopsided as she lifted her right hand to wave at them faintly. "I didn't expect anyone to be here..."

Murrue blinked as she smiled at Cagalli. "I guess we'd be guilty of assuming the same, seeing as in a time of peace very few people find there way over to the Archangel." Murrue laughed gently. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, yeah, no doubt." Cagalli lied with a big smile. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Mwu answered, grinning. "Oh, nothing too indecent." his joke was answered with a light elbow to Murrue. "We were just talking about our upcoming vacation, and figured we'd think best in privacy, that's all. But now that you're here maybe you can help us pick somewhere out."

Cagalli blinked and just nodded, walking over to her older friends. "Where have you guys considered? I really like Tahiti this time of year."

"That could work." Murrue admitted, thoughtfully touching her index finger to her cheek. "Summer time is beach weather as is, let alone how gorgeous it must be in Tahiti."

"Well, it's not like we could think of anything better on our own, so I say that sounds like a good choice." Mwu mentioned, then glanced to Cagalli. "Planning on taking anyone special anywhere this year? You seemed to come up with Tahiti pretty fast."

Cagalli's face flushed and she looked away, folding her arms over her chest. "A-as if! Even if I had time for relationships, there's no one around here that doesn't drive me insane." she mentioned, grumbling. It was true... besides Athrun, every guy that had approached her on Orb was trying to use her for her position or was just as utterly aggravating as Athrun was. And since she had no plans to switch teams so to speak, Cagalli couldn't see her entering another relationship anytime soon. These thoughts brought her back to Athrun, and how he'd all but forced himself on her earlier. Gritting her teeth she tried to calm herself down, spinning around with a small smile for Mwu and Murrue. "I'm going to get back to work. Good luck in your trip planning." and with that the young woman walked off to find solace in her solitude.

At least, that was the plan until an entourage of people came up to her all asking her numerous questions about foreign policy, mobile suit armaments and enough other things to make Cagalli's head spin. Rubbing her temples she sighed and spoke up, "Listen... just leave all this stuff on my desk, I have a previous engagement." she lied, walking off. Of course, now she had to come up with somewhere to hide that wasn't her office... and then an idea came to her that seemed good enough for the time being. Escaping towards the Mobile Suit deck she walked over to see Akatsuki resting there silently as if proving to be her only place of hiding for the time being. The Owashi pack was already loaded... there wasn't any reason not to take it out for a spin in Cagalli's eyes.

Ascending into the cockpit Cagalli instinctively checked the compartments until she'd found her spare helmet, sliding it on over her head with a content smile tracing her features. It'd been far too long since she'd been at the helm of a mobile suit, let alone her own Akatsuki that she'd received during the last war. Gripping the controls gently she let the golden machine roar to life as its blue eyes pierced the sky upon start up. The verniers burned quickly as the suit took off into flight, leaving Orb behind for now as Cagalli just let her mind wander to nothing more than this flight.

She felt like she was back in the "glory" days, back when she was a kid as she would've claimed even if her fighting days had only ended two years ago. Her final fight had been with Shinn Asuka... pilot of the Destiny Gundam and self declared arch-nemesis of Orb. It discouraged her to think that her last fight very well could've been her last day had it not been for Kira's intervention with the at the time newly finished Strike Freedom Gundam. She was so weak compared to him, and yet she was trying to be his pillar of strength over his and Lacus' relationship? What a sad thought that was.

Trying to forget her worries she looked to her display panels. "Akatsuki's moving as well as ever." she announced aloud, smiling as she looked over her panels. "What the hell... they won't miss me if I fly around for just a little while, I'm sure." she mused, flying higher into the air as she felt a wave of happiness washing over her. Just the feeling of being a pilot again, not some official for the government, felt amazing. To be a normal human again was beyond words for her as the golden mobile suit did a graceful barrel roll that brought it crashing downwards so that it was hovering just over the water. Glancing to her view screen Cagalli could see the reflection of Akatsuki's face within the blue waves, its glowing blue orbs lost in the matching sea color.

Lost in the feeling of being out here everything else seemed to fade away for Cagalli... her awkward encounter with Athrun, the mountain of paperwork waiting for her when she got back to her office, none of that mattered. But a faint buzzing did wake her from her calm rest as she saw a few blips resting on the radar screen. "Hm. I wonder what these are..." she mused, instinctively bringing Akatsuki's arm to unleash its rifle as she leveled off the mobile suit's vision to the sky where the blips were coming from.

---

Ugh, again, sorry for taking so long to update this everyone. Hope I still have some of my fans out there! Anyway, next chapter to mirror this one is going to be this same day following Kira like this one followed Cagalli. Hope you guys are looking forward to it.


	4. Kira's day, and the unknown three

A/N: Just figured I'd point out that most of what's happening to Kira right now is taking part around the same time as what happened in last chapter. I mean, I figured that should be self explanatory but sometimes people get confused. Near the end it fades to that night. Also, I really apologize for such a long delay in an update. Long of the short of it, I didn't have internet because, well, I didn't have anywhere to live until now.

Kira had decided early in the morning that he was going to spend the day with Athrun, something he couldn't say he remembered the last time of doing. In fact, the only issue with this was Kira's inability to find his best friend during most of the morning. He'd asked everyone he could find, but the realization that in fact most of his friends seemed to be missing in action on this day. He couldn't find Mwu or Murrue, Cagalli or Athrun. This was disheartening to say the very least, based on the fact that he was supposed to be here on Earth to get advice from his friends.

Shrugging his concerns away he rounded a corner just in time to see the kiss between Athrun and Cagalli. He told himself to look away, that it wasn't his business what was happening between his sister and best friend. He wasn't nosey by nature, either, so why couldn't he peel his eyes off of it? Soon after the exchange ended Cagalli seemed to leave in a bit of a huff while Athrun stood there seeming like quite the idiot. Once he knew he couldn't be accused of being a peeping tom or anything absurd of the sort Kira walked over to Athrun with a small smile on his lips as he did his best to hide the awkwardness of this situation from his facial features. "Hey, Athrun. Are you busy today?" Kira asked. "I figured maybe the two of us could hang out... you know, like old times." he mentioned, waving his hand a bit dismissively.

"Oh, Kira." Athrun seemed to wake from his stupor over the previous encounter with Cagalli when his friend spoke as he tried his best to find the correct words to convey what he was thinking. "I have to train some of the rookies for Orb's defense force today. You could always come help me with that though? Then we could go out and get some dinner." Athrun offered.

"That sounds good, actually. I've been meaning to check out how well you're teaching these kids in my absence." Kira joked, a big grin plastering his face. "Hopefully I won't have to point out all the things you're doing wrong." he teased, only to see a triumphant smile tracing Athrun's lips. "Oh boy, here it comes." Kira then added, folding his arms over his chest as he glanced to the raven haired man before him. "What is running around in that brain of your's?"

"Well since you're convinced I'm teaching them wrong you can find out that I'm not by helping me host a little tournament. Today, everything is going to be done with simulators. Simulators that I've told them are being run with the data of the top three pilots of Orb. Myself, Mwu-san, and of course, your data." Athrun added, and while he no longer had to further explain his plan to Kira he did anyway. "Well, Mwu-san is fairly busy, and I can't be in the simulator as I have to watch over them... but I think it'd be interesting to see them handle you actually fighting against them rather than simulated data."

Kira couldn't help but snicker at the idea. "It would be a good way to get some things off my mind, and I'd like to see how well you've taught them. You've got a deal, Athrun." Kira mentioned as his friend motioned to follow him to the simulator room. He knew the students likely weren't in yet, and if he were already in the simulator when they got there they'd just chalk it up to one student getting there earlier, so it would work out perfectly. Entering the room he walked to the simulator station all the way in the back, pulling on the visual's helmet before sitting down and turning the machine before him on. Scrolling through the different settings he picked the appropriate ones so that he'd be pitted against all other pilots once they logged on.

From there it was just the specifics of model number for his mobile suit. ZMGF-X20A, Strike Freedom Gundam." he mused aloud as he saw all the specifications setting up before going to a virtual reality simulation of Freedom's cockpit. He even heard a voice echoing through his helmet saying 'G.U.N.D.A.M. system online. So lost in the specifics of this he'd not noticed that the other students had activated their simulations. Now as it ran everything on the simulated sea of stars came to life as beside him he saw two familiar mobile suits. The Akatsuki complete with the Shiranui pack and Saviour Gundam. _"Weird, maybe the kids are used to Infinite Justice's information so Athrun's trying to throw them for a loop." _Kira soon after assessed, not concerning himself further with why Athrun had chosen that model over the more powerful and still actually intact Justice Gundam's information.

The line up Athrun had programmed for his students was far from impressive, of course. They were learning on grunt simulations, and while the Murasame's the children piloted might have looked like Gundams Kira knew better than to expect them to measure up. Saviour and Akatsuki moved forward before Kira did, each engaging the students one on one. It was now that Kira understood what the objective was here. There were six students total, and three Mobile suits designated as _enemies_, the Freedom, Saviour, and Akatsuki units. That meant that the students were to go two against one on the bosses to try and make up for the fact that they were fighting far more powerful prototype units as opposed to Orb mass production models.

That was when Kira's two opponents came at him, one of the Murasame's bearing a custom color scheme of blue and silver rather than the traditional white and red Murasame's came painted with. He assumed this meant this was the squad leader, and most likely his second in command that was coming for Kira. Smirking, Kira forced his controls to action. He didn't want to disappoint these kids who were being groomed on the legends of himself, Mwu and Athrun. Holstering Freedom's twin rifles to its hips he took out his beam sabers and linked them together before flying back down, heading first for the wingman.

Freedom spun on its pass, missing the swing of the grunt suit's saber and in return greeting it with a swing of its own saber, severing the lesser suit's left arm. _"Not bad. The kid's know what they're doing... he moved at the right moment to sacrifice the arm rather than the entire lower body." _Kira thought to himself, detaching the sabers so that his Gundam now held one in each hand. But before he could make his second pass beam rifle was coming from both the squad leader and his one armed wingman. Bringing up both beam shields that rested in Freedom's forearms Kira blocked the rifle fire until he was certain it had died down enough as he flew gracefully upwards. Again, his target remained the wingman as he swooped downward again and brought both sabers down in a slashing motion.

This time the wingman lost both legs and the head in a single movement, leaving the one armed torso floating there before the computer simulation removed it from the "game." Now Kira faced off against the squad leader who promptly retreated, as if accepting defeat. However, Kira knew it couldn't be that easy as he sheathed his suit's beam sabers away. _"What's this person's plan?" _Kira found himself wondering as he noticed Saviour and Akatsuki had been defeated. Kira smirked as he realized exactly what Athrun had done. He'd lowered the A.I. on Saviour and Akatsuki to see how the kids would respond against him in response. And in turn, the remaining five pilots all leveled off their beam rifles in their show of triumph.

The volley came flying at Kira, and effortlessly he released his D.R.A.G.O.O.N. wings as they fired inwards at one another and created a shield of beam weaponry in front of him large enough to block all five volleys without forcing Freedom to move. While he couldn't see their faces, the movements of their mobile suits betrayed the mood of the pilots as they clearly hadn't seen this maneuver from the Freedom simulation before. He also figured then that they'd yet to see this as he let all the remote wing units fire their own volley at the group while Kira rushed forward, linking his rifles together as he fired shot after shot for the suits, aiming for all their vital points. The massacre of limbs and heads flying through space was more than enough to prove Kira's superiority over the other pilots as the simulation shut off.

The mood of the six varied from humiliated to angered as they approached Athrun. The squad leader, a young man of stature taller than Athrun or Kira walked over to his instructor in an annoyed fashion. "You've never turned the simulation on that high a level! How are we supposed to learn when you turn down the A.I. on two units only to turn up the level on Freedom beyond even what Yamato would've been able to pilot!?" he asked, only to see Athrun smirk. "...what?"

"Well, Peter, I'd like you to meet the _A.I. _from that last simulation." Athrun spoke non-chalantly as Kira stood up out of the simulator, straighting the creases of his shirt. "Kira Yamato, meet my squad of rookies."

Kira bowed his head lightly, smiling as he looked to the group of six. The reaction was much the same, all of them delighted to meet him save for this squad leader who Athrun had introduced as Peter. Walking over to him, Kira held out a hand with a smile. "When you went to regroup with the others, while your strategy wasn't wrong it might've been better to let them fire on me while you tried to distract me. This way I would've been tied up, and forced to try and finish you with enough time to get away from the rifle volley." Kira offered politely. Peter however didn't take Kira's hand and walked off without another word. Glancing to Athrun the brunette blinked. "Reminds me of Shinn."

And to this, Athrun could only laugh, nodding a little. "He does. That aside, Kira this is Anna, Hiro, Ryou, Simon and Haruko." Athrun explained, pointing down the line to a dirty blonde girl, a dark haired young man, a green haired man, a short blonde haired man and finally a young woman with long red hair. "The angry one of course you know is Peter."

"It's a pleasure, all of you." Kira added with a smile. "I hope I didn't upset you guys too much with the simulation."

"Not at all!" Haruko quickly answered, blushing a crimson nearly as bright as her hair. "I... it was an honor to be able to fight against such a pro..." she added, quickly allowing Kira to realize this must have been the wingman he'd beaten first. "I look forward to getting the chance to redeem myself against you one day!" with that she walked off bashfully, while the rest of the squadron politely excused themselves.

"They're young." Kira mused, glancing to Athrun. "Same age we were when we had to start fighting, huh?" he inquired to which his friend merely nodded a little bit. Sighing deeply Kira let his hands fall into his pockets as he thought. "Even in peace times... kids are having to fight. Isn't this part of what we fought to prevent?" Kira wondered, mostly speaking aloud though knowing Athrun would hear and possibly weigh in on these thoughts.

"Better for them to learn to fight in times like this than the way we had to." Athrun simply added. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

Kira however just shook his head. "No, that's okay. I'll catch up with you later, I want to go check on Freedom. Maybe take it out for a spin." Kira mentioned, smiling faintly as he walked off with a short wave in the direction of Athrun. The truth was, Kira wasn't much for eating right now... his simulation had proved only to get his mind off of things for the moment, and he was already too preoccupied in his thoughts once more. Whatever it took, keeping his mind off of Lacus was for the best wasn't it?

He paused for a moment, realizing he'd offered himself up a loaded question... did he really want to push Lacus out of his mind like that? What about just calling her and telling her what he was worried about? He figured that might be the better case... only his thoughts were pulled from his brain as he was forced back to reality by a tapping on his shoulder. "Mm?" Kira murmured, turning around to see Athrun. "What's up, Athrun? I'm still not feeling up to eating."

"No, uh, there's a call from Lacus on the line." Athrun explained, and from the look on his face he didn't seem to be offering Kira good news via this. Kira just nodded, following his friend to the nearest secure phone.

Once there, Athrun disappeared while Kira picked up the video phone, forcing a smile. "Hey, Lacus."

_"Kira, how are you?" _she asked, the line a little staticy, though that was to be expected from an Earth to the PLANTs line.

"I'm all right... but I have a feeling that's not why you called." he mused, and she half heartedly nodded, looking away. "Lacus... I want to know that we're all right..."

_"...I'm sorry, Kira. It's just.. I don't know if I can keep doing this..." _Lacus explained. Kira tightened his right fist around the phone as he listened, nodding weakly. _"When you were here it was hard enough, for us to make things work... I've been thinking this for a while... and I just..." _she paused again, and Kira could tell this was killing Lacus just as much as it was him... _"I wish I could jerk my responsibilities and just be with you Kira... but..." _

"ZAFT has already gone to hell thanks to two leaders who didn't care enough... just like when Cagalli stepped away from ORB, right?" he offered. He looked at the view screen, watching as Lacus wiped her tears and nodded. "The Coordinators need a strong leader to help them along... and make them realize that they're neither inferior or superior to Naturals. You're doing too good of a job with that to throw it away, right..?"

_"I'm... so sorry, Kira..." _was all she could say. He smiled weakly, shaking his head. _"You know I'll... always.." _

"Me too." he answered her, just smiling still. "Still... friends then, right?" he nearly choked on his own words as he realized just what kind of volume they really held to them. "I... think I want to stay here, for a while I mean. With ORB again. Do you want me to bring Freedom back? It is your mobil--" he didn't get to finish.

_"Just because... something changed, doesn't mean everything did. That Gundam was built with only you in mind. No one else could pilot it even if you brought it back, Kira. It's your's." _Lacus assured him.

"Lacus... is there any chance we..." he cut himself off. He couldn't bring up those words. They hurt just thinking. "I hope I can see you soon. Stay well." he whispered, smiling weakly.

_"Kira... I hope you stay well. You've... worked so hard for the peace we have right now, you deserve to be happy." _she murmured, tears rolling freely down Lacus' cheeks now. _"They're... calling me. I guess they need me to look over some paperwork..." _

"I'll talk to you soon." his words were softer than before, devoid of feeling. She only nodded before the communication ended and just as if she'd never been on the screen Lacus was gone. "...damn it..." Kira whispered, gritting his teeth before leaving the room. Athrun was standing outside waiting for Kira, hoping clearly for good news but quickly realized from his friend's face that such was not the case. "I'm going to go take Freedom for a spin... if anyone asks for me, I'll have the comm. link open." the brunette mused before walking past his friend.

"Kira, you need to talk about-" Athrun's words were cut off as Kira spun around.

"Not yet. I need to clear my head." and before any other words exchanged between the two Kira let himself fade into the shadows of the corridor as he headed for his mobile suit.

Standing ever majestic over the mobile suit deck Strike Freedom rested, the gray hues of the suit giving off a faint silver glow from the pale moon's light as Kira ascended into the cockpit. Before Kira really rationalized anything his hands were upon the controls and all systems were operational. A soft humming filled the cockpit and the LEDs on the panels in front of him flickered in a dance of rhythm that would hypnotize even the most reserved person. But none of this seemed to matter as Kira merely brought Freedom skyward and took it out over the ocean.

Out over the waters Kira found his tranquility as he tried to find a way to deal with his emotions. He'd lost... for the first time since Shinn defeated him, he'd lost a battle. But unlike that last fight he'd lost something far more important than Freedom Gundam... he'd lost Lacus. Gripping his controls tighter Kira held back his desire to scream, cry, and anything else pent up in him. For now, just being out here would be enough... he'd just let himself take it all in. At least, that was what he'd hoped to do... the soft humming of a radar alert awoke him from his state of calm. "...Three mobile suits. Odd." Kira mused, his eyes scanning the view screen ahead of him. They were out of view, but closing in fast.

Instinctively Kira moved into defensive mode as he had Freedom grasp its beam sabers, one in each hand as the Gundam awaited its incoming potential foes. But instead the three figures flew right past, just long enough for Kira to get a good view on one of them before taking off in the opposite direction far faster than Freedom could've hoped to follow. "...What were those things?" Kira asked of himself, clicking a comm. line to ORB. "ORB, this is Kira. Please confirm three mobile suit signatures heading east."

_"Admiral Yamato." _it felt odd to hear his old title, but Kira ignored it for now. _"Signatures confirmed. Can you tell us what they are? They're already off the radar, we only picked them up for a few moments." _

"...one of them was a Gundam." he whispered over the mic. "I could only make out one, it passed close enough for me to see it. They moved faster than any mobile suit I've ever seen before. I'm returning... alert Captain La Flaga, Captain Zala, and anyone else that's up right now."

_"Should we inform lady Cagalli as well?" _

Kira sighed. Cagalli. Should he worry his sister with this? And with everything else that was on his mind as well..? "...I'll tell my sister myself." he then answered, forcing Freedom's thrusters to go full power as he headed back to the base. Those things might've gone off in the other direction for now... but if they were hostile ORB was the most likely target.


End file.
